Configure anonymous access (Office SharePoint Server)

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Configure anonymous access (Office SharePoint Server)

Updated: 2009-03-26

In this article:

• About anonymous access

• Enable anonymous access for a zone

• Enable anonymous access for individual sites

• Enable anonymous access for individual lists

Anonymous access enables users to find resources in the public areas of Web sites without having to provide authentication credentials.

About anonymous access

Internet Information Services (IIS) creates the IUSR_computername account to authenticate anonymous users in response to a request for Web content. The IUSR_computername account, where computername is the name of the server that is running IIS, gives the user access to resources anonymously under the context of the IUSR account. You can reset anonymous user access to use any valid Windows account.

Note:
You can set up different anonymous accounts for different Web sites, virtual or physical directories, and files.

In a stand-alone environment, the IUSR_computername account is on the local server. If the server is a domain controller, the IUSR_computername account is defined for the domain.

By default, anonymous access is disabled by Office SharePoint Server 2007 when you create a new Web application. This provides an additional layer of security because IIS rejects anonymous access requests before they can ever be processed by Office SharePoint Server 2007 if anonymous access is disabled.

Enable anonymous access for a zone

Use the following procedures to enable anonymous access for a zone of a Web application. Within each Web application, you can categorize different classes of users into one of the following five zones:

• Internet is the zone used for customers. Typically, the Internet zone is the only zone you would configure for anonymous access.

• Intranet is the zone used for internal employees.

• Default is the zone used for remote employees.

• Custom is the zone used for administrators.

• Extranet is the zone used for partners.

Enable anonymous access for a zone of a Web application

1. From Administrative Tools, open the SharePoint Central Administration Web site application.

2. On the Central Administration home page, click Application Management.

3. On the Application Management page, in the Application Security section, click Authentication providers.

4. On the Authentication Providers page, make sure the Web application that is listed in the Web Application box (under Site Actions) is the one that you want to configure. If the listed Web application is not the one that you want to configure, click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Web Application drop-down list box and select Change Web Application.

5. In the Select Web Application dialog box, click the Web application that you want to configure.

6. On the Authentication Providers page, click the zone of the Web application on which you want to enable anonymous access. The zones that are configured for the selected Web application are listed on the Authentication Providers page.

7. On the Edit Authentication page, in the Anonymous Access section, select Enable Anonymous Access, and then click Save.

At this point, the Web application zone has been enabled for anonymous access.

Enable anonymous access for individual sites

Now you need to enable anonymous access for individual sites in the site collection.

Enable anonymous access for individual sites

1. Go to the site on which you want to enable anonymous access and click the Site Actions menu.

2. On the Site Actions menu, click Site Settings.

3. On the Site Settings page, in the Users and Permissions section, click Advanced Permissions.

4. On the Permissions page, on the Settings menu, click Anonymous Access. The settings for anonymous access lists three options:

   • Entire Web site   Select this option if you want to enable anonymous access for the entire Web site.

   • Lists and libraries   Select this option if you want to limit anonymous access to only the lists and libraries on your site.

   • Nothing   Select this option if you want to prevent anonymous access from being used on your site.

5. Click OK.

At this point, your site is configured for anonymous access based on the options that you have selected.

Enable anonymous access for individual lists

If you select Lists and libraries, enable anonymous access for individual lists.

Enable anonymous access for individual lists

1. Go to the home page of your Web site and, in the left navigation pane, click View All Site Content.

2. Click the list on which you want to enable anonymous access.

3. On the Settings menu, click List Settings.

4. On the Customize List page, in the Permissions and Management section, click Permissions for this list.

5. On the Permissions page, on the Actions menu, click Edit Permissions. A dialog box is displayed informing you that you are about to create unique permissions for this list. Click OK.

6. On the Settings menu, click Anonymous Access.

7. Select permissions for users who have anonymous access to the list, and then click OK.

At this point, users have anonymous access to the list you have configured. You can control whether users have anonymous access to other lists, the home page, or other pages on this site.